Now That I’ve Found You by Kristina Forest

Unrated| 336 pages | Roaring Brook Press| Contemporary | Release Date: 8/25/2020

Evie may come from  Hollywood royalty but she’s about to become a breakout star on her own…until an internet scandal costs her everything. Evie has one last shot to reclaim stardom–but to seal the deal she’ll need her legendry grandmother’s permission to star in a remake of her classic film. The only problem? Her grandmother has runaway from home. Now Eve has to traverse New York City with the help of Milo, an upstart viral internet musician, to bring her grandmother home.

This a YA novel I’ll have to file under books I know teen me would have enjoyed. Mostly because this is an easy book to recommend with one of my teen favorites This Lullaby. I mean who doesn’t want more books featuring a protagonist with a celebrity family who finds themselves tangled up with a group of lovable goofy aspiring musicians?

Evie’s grandmother is the star of a beloved 1970’s Black rom-com that has captured the imagination of people for decades. Forest really builds her world around this film. The popularity of the film and its cultural impact is what fuels Evie’s passion for acting and storytelling and made her feel like a real person with real motivations. I tried to think of a film in real life that is and expy but I couldn’t think of one.

The romance does take a bit of a backseat and I think the real star of this book is Evie’s relationship with her grandmother. Forest has a whole cinematic universe going on here because the characters from her first book show up at a party in this. I can’t wait to dive into the next book to maybe get a glimpse at what Evie and Milo are up to.

Side Note

Because Evie is in hiding after her scandal she has to wear a wig when she goes out. At one point she puts on a lace front wig in the back of the car, and I was like–there is no way she could have just plopped that on without some concealer, hair spray, gel and a stick comb.